Thanks to a tip from Dave Adrien, Lu and I drove south by Odiorne this afternoon after an appointment in Portsmouth, N.H. The young Common Shelduck was exactly where Dave told me to look; it was slurping through mud in the second tidal pond south of the entrance to the park. I had heard rumors about there being a shelduck around somewhere, but since it wasn’t on Plum Island, I hadn’t paid attention. Thanks to Dave for texting me instructions this morning after he found out we’d be up that way. If I’m going to be driving right by a life bird, even if it isn’t on Plum Island, I am going to take a look; I’m not crazy.

I checked on the A.O.U. website and discovered that this species is not yet on the accepted list of North American birds, though a number of recent sightings from Newfoundland seem to be weighing arguments strongly against the birds [in Newfoundland] being escapes from aviculturalists.